Purpose: Persons aged 15-25 years have high sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates and suboptimal screening. There has been limited research analyzing barriers to STI testing at a national level. We examined STI testing among 15-25 year olds and reasons for not testing.
Methods: We used data from a national survey of youth. Bivariate and multivariable analyses examined differences in testing behaviors by demographics, separately by sex. Among sexually experienced respondents who reported never being tested, health system-related reasons for not testing were examined in bivariate and multivariable analyses.
Results: Females (16.6%) were more likely to have ever been tested compared with males (6.1%, p < .01) in the last 12 months. Among sexually experienced respondents who were never tested, 41.8% did not seek testing because they felt they were not at risk for STIs. Males (60.1%) had significantly higher reports of foregoing testing for confidentiality reasons compared with females (39.9%, p < .01). Non-Hispanic whites (44.9%) the highest reports of this compared with other ethnic/racial groups (p < .01).
Conclusions: This national-level study found that most of the 15-25 year olds never received an STI test. In addition, confidentiality concerns may deter youth from seeking STI testing. Appropriate strategies to minimize these concerns may be useful. Potential strategies to ameliorate these issues may include engaging clinicians who frequently serve adolescents and young adults to address confidentiality issues with youth patients.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.01.002 | DOI Listing |
Viruses
January 2025
Centre for Virus Research, The Westmead Institute for Medical Research, Westmead 2145, Australia.
Anogenital inflammation is a critical risk factor for HIV acquisition. The primary preventative HIV intervention, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is ineffective in blocking transmission in anogenital inflammation. Pre-existing sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) and anogenital microbiota dysbiosis are the leading causes of inflammation, where inflammation is extensive and often asymptomatic and undiagnosed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants (Basel)
January 2025
College of Agriculture and Environmental Science (CAES), University of South Africa, Priva Bag X06, Florida 0710, South Africa.
Plants have long been used to treat serious illnesses in both humans and animals. A significant underappreciated medicinal tree, Sond is utilized by many different ethnic groups to cure a wide range of illnesses. A variety of electronic databases, including ScienceDirect, Scopus, Scielo, Scifinder, PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, and Google Scholar, were used to search the literature on , using key words such as uses, survey, pharmacology, antigonococcal, toxicity, phytochemistry and others.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
January 2025
Department of Dermatology, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Clinical Immunology, Collegium Medicum, University of Warmia and Mazury, Al. Wojska Polskiego 30, 10-229 Olsztyn, Poland.
Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and E-selectin are involved in different inflammatory diseases and may be potential cardiovascular risk biomarkers in psoriasis. They play an important role in regulating the recruitment and adhesion to endothelial cells during inflammation, affecting various conditions like vasculitis, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular diseases. Positive outcomes have been observed when using Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors and biological therapies that target selectins to control the functioning of endothelial cells and reduce inflammation in psoriasis and related conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroorganisms
January 2025
Unidad de Investigación en Salud, Hospital de Alta Especialidad Ixtapaluca, IMSS-Bienestar, Carr Federal México-Puebla Km 34.5, Ixtapaluca 56530, Mexico.
Unlabelled: Infertility, both primary and secondary, is strongly influenced by microbiological factors, with the vaginal microbiota playing a key role in reproductive health.
Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize the vaginal microbiota of 136 Mexican women diagnosed with infertility-primary (n = 58) and secondary (n = 78)-by evaluating the presence of pathogenic bacterial species and their associations with infertility conditions.
Methods: Samples were obtained through cervical swabs, and microorganism identification was performed using qPCR techniques.
Biomedicines
January 2025
Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Vilnius University, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania.
A wide range of syphilis-related pregnancy complications are encountered in clinical practice. Active surveillance of the epidemiological situation in different countries and a series of retrospective data analyses allow for a comprehensive assessment of the feasible consequences of syphilis infection during pregnancy. The negative effects of infection on reproductive health are also described.
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